A dramatic change in international relationships was witnessed at the UN General Assembly on Monday as 17 governments, including the United States, Russia, and North Korea, cast ballots against a nonbinding resolution that condemned Russia as the offender of the Ukraine war. This resolution highlighted growing political realignments, more than twice the opposition to a comparable solution two years ago.
The solution, backed by Western nations, however passed largely but was essentially metaphorical, serving as a show of solidarity with Ukraine on the fourth anniversary of Russia’s full-scale invasion. But, political circles were shocked by President Trump’s sudden voting against the measure. Trump has repeatedly questioned US funding of the fight, criticized Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky, and refused to chastise Russia for the battle only one month into his second word. Trump showed accessibility to meet Zelensky in the upcoming week despite this.
The 17 states that opposed the solution were the United States, Russia, North Korea, Belarus, Israel, Haiti, Hungary, Palau, the Marshall Islands, Burkina Faso, Burundi, the Central African Republic, Equatorial Guinea, Niger, Sudan, Syria, Eritrea, Mali, and Nicaragua. In contrast to the seven countries that voted against a similar decision in 2023, this is a significant increase.
Sixty-five states, including China, abstained from the ballot. Chinese President Xi Jinping reiterated his country’s ties to Russia in a video phone, stating that the two countries are” true friends who support each other and good neighbors who didn’t move away.”
While more than 100 governments voted in favor of the quality, the growing number of nations joining Russia hints at a shifting world order. With Trump wheel US foreign policy in a new course, Ukraine’s struggle for help on the world level faces new challenges.
